Year 3 Week 40

March 18 to 24, 2007

Rio Grande Valley, Texas

Year 3 week 40

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny, hot, humid, and windy.

OOOOOPS ! ! ! This morning Joanne got a black eye ! Immediately after showering, she crawled onto the bed to wake me up and hug me. Bo leaped over to get his fair share of "love ups". As she bent down to kiss the top of his head, he twisted around quickly, lifting his head to lick her face. With his mouth open, his muzzle smashed into the side of her face. OUCH ! Three of his teeth banged her eyelid and side of her eye, leaving 3 deep purple bruises on her eyelid and the side of her eye. Clumsy woman meets exuberant dog !

This afternoon we ran errands. First we went to the propane business down the street from our RV park to take advantage of their offer to pick free citrus. All the orange trees had already been picked clean. All they had left were grapefruits. Too bad. We've already got all the free grapefruits we can handle, and then some. We drove to Mission to find the Post Office. I'll stop in there tomorrow on the way to my dentist's appointment in Mexico. I'm expecting a package from Passport America at General Delivery in the Mission Post Office. And I'm still expecting another batch of forwarded investment mail from my cousin's husband Bruce in Thunder Bay, Ontario, at the La Feria Post Office, 45 miles away < sigh >. We drove to the Wes/Don Flea & Farmer's Market between Weslaco and Donna to buy fresh produce at the farmer's market. What great fresh fruit here in The Valley ! Then it was on to Joanne's beloved Whataburger for a late lunch. Maybe they should change the name to Whatamoron, in honour of the employee they had working the front counter < rolling eyes >.

Our last stop was Wal-Mart in Alamo. I had forgotten my vow never to go Wal-Martin' on Saturdays and Sundays < fume >. I dropped Joanne off at the trailer, to put away the groceries, and I took Bo for a short "drivey" to refill some water containers and buy a Sunday newspaper. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the fiberglass repair of the two remaining stress cracks on the trailer. I've become awfully darn good at fiberglass repairs.

After using our spiffy new stainless steel barbecue for the first time, to barbecue chicken for supper, we watched Amazing Race.

 

Monday ; Today was mostly sunny, hot, and windy. It's forecast to be quite windy for most of this week.

OOOOOooooo ! The freezing is coming out and the discomfort is rapidly increasing as I type this at 6:30 P.M.. I had oral surgery in Mexico today.

This morning I made some phone calls to local tour companies about one day trip bus trips into Mexico, mostly trips to Monterrey, but also one trip to Matamoras, Nuevo Pregreso, and Reynosa. All of the tour companies' day trips for this week have been cancelled due to lack of interest. The Winter Texan season is pretty much over. Darn ... I wanted to take a day trip down to Monterrey in Mexico with Erbon and Lorraine this week. I finished the fiberglass repair on the 2 stress cracks I fixed yesterday. Now all that is left is to paint the 3 repaired cracks.

After lunch we left for my dentist / periodontist appointment in Mexico. On the way to Nuevo Progreso we stopped at the Post Office in Mission to pick up a package I am expecting from Passport America. The line up at the Post Office was very long. I don't do long Post Office line ups ! I'll return tomorrow. When we got to Nuevo Progreso, I went to the dentist's office, and Joanne went shopping. The periodontist, Dra. Elizabeth Lince ( Linn say ) diagnosed infection in my gums around 2 lower teeth, especially around the tooth that has been bothering me for the last 2 weeks. She recommended surgery. I consented, and asked if it could be done immediately. It could.

She moved me into their oral surgery room and began. We discussed anaesthetic. I told her I'm a big gringo, I want mucho anaesthetic, por favor. She accommodated me with 5 injections of anaesthetic. She sliced down through the gums, along each of the two teeth, on the front side and the back side. For about an hour and a half she cleaned infection out of my gums by scraping and cutting. I thought gums were soft tissue, like skin. They're actually quite hard, like gristle. She stitched me up with 16 stitches in my gums. The bill was U.S.$450, and since I wasn't carrying that much cash and / or traveller's cheques, I had to pay by credit card, with a 5% surcharge, which is quite common when paying by credit card in Mexico. The credit card charge was U.S.$473.68 ! Must have been a Mexican calculation of 5%, I guess !

I went across the street from the dentist to Farmacia Linda and filled the prescription Dra. Lince wrote for antibiotics. We crossed the border back into the United States, for the fourth time with expired passports. Still no problem, no delay. Driving back to Mission, we stopped at H-E-B for more Cajeta ice cream for Joanne.

Oh ... Erbon and Lorraine have just arrived. After a late supper ( my supper was a bowl of soup ) we visited with them, planning our activities for the week.

 

Tuesday ; Today was cloudy, very warm, humid, and windy.

I felt light headed and woozy this morning. Must be the pain killer and antibiotic medications.

This morning we drove to the Post Office in Mission to pick up my package from Passport America. It wasn't there yet. Doggone it ! Why does it take so long for mail to reach The Rio Grande Valley ? ! ? It seems as if any mail that has to pass through the Houston Post Office on its way to its destination gets delayed. Houston seems to be a bottle neck in the U.S. Postal Service. I phoned the Aloe Vera farm in Mercedes and booked 4 spots on their Thursday afternoon farm tour. It was too windy today to paint the fiberglass repairs on the trailer. I fear that's going to be the case all week.

After lunch we took the laptop to the clubhouse, I set up Joanne with Wi-Fi and Google, and she searched for grapefruit pie recipes. She found 7 recipes that she liked. Many of them were on Texas based web sites, so I guess grapefruit pie is sort of a local specialty. I shot 3 games of pool with Erbon. I lost all of them. Hey ... I'm impaired by drugs. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the screened porch of Erbon's and Lorraine's rental mobile home next door to us, and chatted away the afternoon with them.

We shared supper with Erbon and Lorraine, in their mobile home. Erbon and / or Lorraine prepared a garden salad. Erbon prepared spaghetti with meat sauce. Joanne prepared a fresh fruit salad. I sat around looking stunned on drugs !

 

Wednesday ; Once again, today was cloudy, hot and windy.

Erbon and Lorraine are scheduled to go on a birding expedition tomorrow morning, down the Rio Grande River by canoe. It might be cancelled because for the last couple of days, the Mexican drug runners and the U.S. Border Patrol Guards have been shooting at one another as they race up and down the Rio Grande in high speed pursuits in fast boats. HA HA HA ... for some reason, that strikes me as perversely amusing. I told Erbon and Lorraine to go anyway, just wave a Canadian flag if they see any high speed boats approaching, and hear gun fire. As soonas the Mexican drug runners realize it's a canoe with pudgy, old Canadians, implying pockets full of mucho dineros they ( the Canadians ) intend to spend in Mexico buying Cremino chocolates, they ( the drug runners ) will stop shooting. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! I can't be so sure of the American Border Patrol Guards , though. Wait a minute ... I'm laughing so hard as I type this, I have tears in my eyes !

Right after lunch I picked a half a dozen grapefruits from the tree in our RV park for Joanne to use in making a grapefruit pie. Then Erbon and Lorraine climbed into the back seat of Lanoire and off we went for an afternoon of assorted activities. First we stopped at a local RV dealer to look a new Winnebago View class B+ motorhome they had sitting out front. I read an interesting article on the new Winnebago View, and gave it to Erbon and Lorraine. We all wanted to take a quick look at the Winnebago View. Nope ... nowhere near as well engineered as the Roadtrek class B made in Kitchener, Ontario. Next stop was the Wes/Don Flea & Farmer’s Market. Erbon wanted to take a look at the man’s silver and turquoise bracelet that matched the one he bought for Lorraine 2 weeks ago. With a bit of encouragement, he bought the man’s bracelet today. Very expensive, but worth it. Both his and Lorraine’s bracelets were made by a Zuni Indian artist in New Mexico, whose pieces have a “signature” design, incorporating silver snakes wrapping around the turquoise stones on the silver bracelet. The artist is now blind, and not producing any more pieces, so her unique design pieces are becoming collector’s items. Very nice work !

We crossed the street to the farmer’s market and restocked on fresh fruit. From there we drove to La Feria for the third time to pick up the batch of mail I’m expecting there. It wasn’t there AGAIN ! ! ! I’m really pissed off, and worried. We want to leave The Valley on Monday. If the mail isn’t at La Feria by Friday, our planned departure will be delayed. And I’m still awaiting mail at the Mission Post Office, as well. We drove back to Weslaco along Business 83, looking for the best price on diesel. I refilled Lanoire, then we drove to Valley Nature Centre in Weslaco a few minutes before it closed for the day, to see if it looked like a worthwhile place for Erbon and Lorraine to return for birding. We went to a pool supply store where Erbon and Lorraine bought mesh "chairs" that slide onto pool noodles, like the ones Joanne and I bought in Palm Springs, California. From Weslaco we drove back west along Expressway 83 to Mission. We stopped at H-E-B for some groceries, then refilled some water jugs before returning to Seldom Rest Ranch.

It was our turn to prepare supper for the four of us, so while Joanne prepared supper, I went to the clubhouse to retrieve our 2 MasterCard statements. Joanne prepared a corned beef hash recipe, using some “left over” wonderful home made corned beef we got from our table mate at Saturday’s communal St. Patrick’s Day dinner. She’s been making the corned beef for this park’s St. Patrick’s Day dinners for the last few years. She worked in a diner for 20 years, preparing this home made corned beef recipe on a weekly basis as one of the diner’s weekly specials. It was very good ! Yesterday Joanne researched and downloaded some home made corned beef recipes, and might try making home made corned beef, since beef brisket is readily available in the grocery stores down here. We don’t see much beef brisket up north. Apparently, there isn’t much of a market for brisket up north, so the butchers usually just grind it into ground beef.

After supper we spent the evening chatting with Erbon and Lorraine.

AOL advises me when a reader posts a comment to my blog. Today I received a comment to my blog entry from April 21, 2005 ! ! ! From a complete stranger ! HUH ? ? ? Somebody that I don't know is reading my blog ... from almost 2 years ago ? ! ? WHAT ? ! ?

 

Thursday ; Today was cloudy, warm, and windy.

I felt fairly ill for much of today due to a severe flare up of colitis. The antibiotics seem to have caused my colon to inflame and ulcerate. I lost a lot of blood today.

Erbon and Lorraine went on their birding expedition by canoe on the Rio Grande River this morning. They managed to not get shot. HA HA HA ! They were the only ones on the canoe trip. The other dozen or so people cancelled or failed to show up. Wimps ! Hey ... this is Texas ... y’all gotta expect some gun play. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

This morning I printed the MasterCard statements and Joanne's downloaded recipes. She promptly made a grapefruit pie. It looks pretty good ! We didn't eat any yet. It has to solidify in the fridge.

This afternoon we all loaded into the Dickinson's car, drove to Mercedes, and found our way to Aloe King Farm, for our afternoon tour. It was very interesting, and much more than just a farm tour. It started with a presentation by the owner's 84 year old mother about Aloe Vera farming, the products they produce, and their manufacturing processes. Then the owner's father took us on a walking tour of their factory, where we saw how the Aloe leaves are filleted for use in products, or prepared and packaged for shipping just as Aloe Vera "leaves". They sell well in the Southern and Eastern U.S. grocery store produce departments, to be used as a salad vegetable. Then we went on a tram tour, driving around the farm to see the Aloe Vera plants in the fields. We bought some products in their gift shop. A small bottle of Aloe Vera first aid cream, a bottle of Aloe Vera juice, and a jar of Aloe Vera and grapefruit jelly. Now there's a local specialty product ! The Aloe Vera juice is meant to be drunk daily, an ounce or two, for medicinal purposes. I'm going to try it, to see if it has any positive effect on my colitis.

After the farm tour, we drove over to La Feria, where my batch of mail from Thunder Bay, Ontario had finally arrived. We drove all the way back across The Valley to Mission, to the Post Office there. My package from Passport America had not yet arrived < sigh >.

We returned to Seldom Rest Ranch briefly, then went out for supper to Cici's in McAllen. Cici's is a pizza buffet restaurant chain that Joanne and I like. It was Erbon's and Lorraine's first visit to a Cici's. They liked it.

 

Friday ; Today was cloudy, hot, and windy.

This morning we set off for another visit to Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. We followed the Dickinson's in their car to the Toyota dealer in McAllen, where Erbon was taking their car for service. Then it was off to Nuevo Progreso. West on Hwy. 83, then south on FM 1015 to the border. We parked and walked across the International Bridge into Mexico. Erbon bought some medications at Discount Pharmacy, then we walked the entire length of Nuevo Progreso's main shopping street, browsing as we went. Joanne bought some gift items. We crossed the street, and wandered all the way back in the direction we came. When we went into the store where we always buy Cremino chocolates, Joanne stopped to take a look at a large jar of Cajeta ( Mexican caramel ) she had noticed, delaying me from getting to the Cremino chocolates. By the time I got to the shelf with the Cremino chocolates, the shelf was bare. And then I noticed Erbon, sauntering towards the cash register, with an armload of Cremino chocolates. HEY < STOMP STOMP STOMP POUT POUT POUT > ! ! !

We walked over to Arturo's Restaurant to have a late lunch. It was closed ! There was a huge black wreath on the door ( I've never actually seen a black wreath before ! ) with a notice that the restaurant was closed due to a death in the family. We decided to cross the bridge back into the United States, and head to Ray's B-B-Q Buffet in McAllen for a very, very late lunch / very, very early supper.

Well ... there's nothing like eating a few pounds of barbecued meat to take the hunger edge off. HA HA HA ! We sure can pack away the “barbecue” for a bunch of gringos. HA HA HA ! Of course, I couldn't eat any barbecued pulled pork or sausage, but I certainly had my fair share of barbecued beef ribs, chicken, and beef brisket. Even with the restriction of not being able to open my mouth very wide, and only being able to chew on one side.

I dropped Erbon and Lorraine off at the Toyota dealer to pick up their car, and we drove to the Post Office in Mission. My package from Passport America still wasn't there. Oh, for crying out loud ! ! ! Back at Seldom Rest Ranch, I napped while Joanne, Erbon and Lorraine spent the rest of the afternoon in the swimming pool.

I didn't feel like eating any supper, but Joanne, Erbon & Lorraine wanted a late, "light snack" supper. Joanne prepared fresh guacamole, which she has become very good at, and they ate guacamole with tortilla chips, and Joanne's fresh grapefruit pie. Erbon expressed his appreciation by giving us a box of Creminos. Thank you. We spent until late into the evening chatting with Erbon and Lorraine.

 

Saturday ; Today was cloudy, very warm, and windy again.

This morning I phoned the Post Office in Mission to check whether my Passport America package had arrived. It had not ! I filled out a change of address form I picked up at the Post Office the other day. If the package has not arrived when we check at the Post Office on Monday morning as we 're leaving The Valley, I will leave the "change of address" form so that when the package finally arrives, it will be forwarded to Oroville, Washington, the U.S. town across the border from Osoyoos, B.C.. We'll have to pick up the package in a month, just before we cross back into Canada.

This afternoon we went with Erbon and Lorraine to the annual Onion Festival at Weslaco. We parked and walked into the large park where the Onion Festival was taking place. The first thing we saw was the "dancing horses" exhibition in the outdoor arena. WOW ... I didn't know one could train a horse to do that ! These dancing horses could prance sideways, and backwards, and high step in time to the music, and walk on their front "knees". It was quite interesting. Then we wandered through an area filled with barbecue competition teams, and their honkin' huge barbecues, fired up with huge chunks of Mesquite wood. They take their "barbecue" really serious around here. The judging was already completed, and there was only one team with any samples left. We walked over to the field where the food vendors were, and stood in line to buy "onion blossoms". Huge, sweet onions, cut, opened like flowers, breaded, and deep fried. I've never seen anything like it ! Joanne and I shared one onion blossom, and could eat only about 2/3 of it. And ... given the severe colitis flare up I'm currently experiencing due to antibiotics, it was a bad choice for me to eat. Shortly thereafter, and for most of the rest of the day, I felt pretty sick.

After eating our onion blossoms, we went over to one of the three music stages, and watched a musical group from Peru. From there we walked over to another stage where a local redneck garage band called Texas Heat was supposed to begin playing. They were 40 minutes late starting. As they were preparing to begin, I booed them loudly, then walked out in the middle of their first song, to show them the same level of disrespect that I think they showed their audience by starting 40 minutes late. I was sick, and now I was pissed off ! We left the performance, and left the Onion Festival.

Once again nobody felt like eating supper so we sat in Erbon's and Lorraine's screened porch and chatted all evening.

 

DSK